Undersea robot developed by Taiwan researchers

Taiwanese researchers have developed an undersea robot that can resist strong underwater currents and operate in turbid waters.

 

Dubbed the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), the robot uses energy-saving LED lighting and can transmit images over fiber optic cables.

 

Fang Ming-chung, a professor of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), said the robot, custom-made for the country's marine environment, will allow Taiwan to cut back on its dependence on foreign equipment to carry out underwater research, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

 

NCKU was one of the agencies that developed the robot. Other developers included National Sun Yat-Sen University and local bolt maker DWTEK Co.

 

The ROV, which measures 1.8 meters long and one meter wide, has been able to dive to 600 meters, said the team.

 

"The ocean environment around Taiwan is very complicated and some of the ROVs made abroad cannot be used here," said Fang.

 

Fang cited a forecast by market research institute Douglas-Westwood saying the market value of ROVs will have grown to NT$50.7 billion (US$1.72 billion) by 2015, up 190 percent from the NT$26.7 billion in 2010.

 

He estimated that Taiwan could transform from an importing to an exporting country of underwater equipment within five years. — TJD, GMA News